Stars Hollow Unseen
by dramaqueen88
Summary: Ficlets containing some of Stars Hollows favourite and most quirky inhabitants.
1. Babycakes

Stars Hollow Unseen

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of this

* * *

**Babycakes**

The two Gilmore girls stood in the kitchen staring at a recipe book in puzzlement.

"I told you this was a bad idea," Rory sighed.

"Hey! Enough with the pessimism, missy. We can do this."

"We're Gilmores, baking is not in our genes. We have been preconditioned to fail as chefs."

"Is somebody speaking? It can't be Rory, because the Rory I know would never so heartlessly discourage her mother from trying something new."

Rory made a disgusted noise. "Fine. Go ahead and make the cake. But don't blame me when we are eating charcoal."

Lorelai grinned triumphantly. "And when we are eating spongy goodness I promise to rub it mercilessly in your face."

They proceeded to get the ingredients out of the cupboards and place them neatly on the counter. Lorelai rolled up her sleeves and put on the red polka dot apron she had bought especially for this little experiment. Rory popped in a Motown album – what Lorelai defined 'cooking music' – and they were ready to bake.

"Ok." Rory studied the recipe for a minute. "We will be making a classic English Victoria Sponge Cake. First, we need to cream together the butter and sugar."

"Gotcha," Lorelai said, haphazardly measuring them and throwing them into a large bowl.

"Mom!" Rory cried. "What are you doing? You're putting too much sugar in!"

"Relaaaaax grasshopper. Everyone knows these recipes are just basic guidelines. And you can never have 'too much' sugar."

Rory rolled her eyes.

"Kay, now what?" Lorelai asked once she had beaten the mixture.

"Umm, three eggs."

Lorelai cracked them and into the mixture they went, along with a bit of shell. Lorelai cursed under her breath and grabbed a spoon, struggling to get the indomitable egg shell out.

"I knew we should have called Sookie to help us." Rory muttered.

"Got it!" Lorelai called victoriously. "Now, continue."

"Flour."

"Done and done! Now what?"

"Now we pour it into the cake tins and put it in the oven."

Once the oven door was shut with the raw cake mix safely inside, Lorelai tore off her apron.

"Shall we finish watching Babycakes while we wait?"

"Um," Rory bit her lip worriedly, "maybe we should stay in here and keep an eye on the cake."

"Rory, sweetie, stop being such a worry wart. Now come on, Ricki Lake is waiting."

Over 30 minutes later, a warm smell wafted into the living room. Rory wrinkled her nose.

"Mom, can you smell…burning?"

"Crap, the cake!"

They rushed into the kitchen and wrenched open the oven door, getting a faceful of smoke in the process. Lorelai tossed the cake onto the counter and they both looked mournfully at the half – burned cake.

"Well…it's only slightly burnt. It's still edible." Lorelai said hopefully.

"I don't know," Rory replied dubiously. "It looks a little flat. The cake in the picture is double the size. What flour did you use?"

"Plain," Lorelai said defensively.

"Did you use baking soda?"

"…ah."

Lorelai cut a small slice and popped it in her mouth. She immediately spat it back out. Without a word she tipped the entire contents of the cake into the trash.

"So," She turned to Rory. "Westons?"

"Oh yeah."


	2. Blue Skies Bring Tears

**Blue Skies Bring Tears**

"Lane! Phone!" A loud voice barked. The sound of footsteps thudded up the stairs.

Lane froze, cd in hand. She was sitting cross legged on the floor of her room, rearranging her music collection.

"Crap," she hissed. She scrabbled to find the floorboard, quickly placing it over her forbidden music. She winced at the loud noise it made. The footsteps were getting nearer. She dived onto her bed, shoving the CD that was still in her hand under her pillow. She had just grabbed a book when the door opened.

"Lane, what are you doing?" her mother demanded suspiciously. Mrs Kim was always suspicious.

"Nothing Mama," Lane replied meekly.

"Phone for you. It is David. You have fifteen minutes," Mrs Kim announced. She handed Lane the phone and left the room, partly closing the door behind her.

"Dave, hi!" Lane said brightly, sitting up. "I haven't heard from you in ages, I figured you had forgotten about me or something."

"Hey Lane." Dave's voice on the other end sounded slightly sombre. "I'm sorry I haven't called much, I've been really busy."

"I thought so. They must be working you really hard over in California." Lane joked nervously.

"Yeah, they are." He replied distractedly.

There was a silence.

"So…how is California?" Lane asked at last. It was weird, talking to Dave had never been this hard before.

"It's good. Hot. You know, sunshine, blue skies and all that."

"Right. And, um, everything else is good?"

"Sure. I've been playing my guitar a lot."

"Awesome. Learn any new songs?"

"Not lately."

"Oh."

There was another silence.

"Lane…" Dave began hesitantly.

"Yes?" she immediately replied, eager for _someone_ to make a sound.

"I really don't know how to say this…" he began again.

She swallowed hard, a sinking feeling in her stomach. She knew what was coming.

"I don't think this is working." He uttered the dreaded words.

She couldn't breathe. This couldn't be happening. Dave, her Dave, couldn't be splitting up with her. He wasn't capable of breaking her heart.

"I really hate to end it like this. I never wanted this to happen. But you're still in Stars Hollow and I'm all the way over here. We've been drifting apart recently. Things haven't felt the same for a while"

"Is there anyone else?" She whispered.

"What? No, God no! Of course not! You know I would never do that to you Lane. I just feel…I just feel that our relationship has run its course. You feel it too right?"

"Um, yeah," she croaked, tears starting to stream down her face. He was right. They hadn't seen each other for months and their busy schedules hade made it difficult to have regular contact. Their lives were going in different directions. But she loved him. Breaking up had not even occurred to her.

"I'm really sorry about this Lane. We can still be friends can't we?"

Friends. The worst f-word of them all.

"Uh huh." She managed to choke out. "I've got to go now."

"Ok. Goodbye Lane."

There was a dialling tone at the other end of the line. Lane lowered the phone from her ear with a silent sob.

"Lane! Time is up. You must tell David goodbye now." Mrs Kim called.

Lane clutched the phone in both hands, eyes like waterfalls, body shaking. _Goodbye_.


	3. All the Small Things

**All the Small Things**

"Jess, get your butt down here!" Luke barked up the stairs. He gazed around the crammed diner in dismay. He hated holidays. Well, he was fine with the normal holidays – Thanksgiving, Halloween, Christmas – but not with the ridiculous made-up holidays that were constantly celebrated in Stars Hollow. Who had ever heard of Apple Picking Day?

"A very important day in the history of Stars Hollow," Taylor was lecturing a bored townsperson. "In the fall of 1897, the crops were so scarce because of a dry summer and the only fruit that grew was apples. The townsfolk managed to survive that winter because of the abundance of apples and that is why we are celebrating today."

"Jess!" Luke yelled again in frustration. He couldn't listen to Taylor a moment longer.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming," a voice mumbled and a dishevelled Jess appeared from behind the curtain.

"What have you been doing?" Luke demanded.

"Nothing," Jess replied innocently as a flushed Rory stumbled out into the diner.

"Rory!" Luke exclaimed in surprise. "Uh, hi. Does your Mom know…?"

"Hi Luke," Rory squeaked, "I've got to get home. Bye!" With that she raced out of the diner as fast as she could.

Luke turned to face Jess who was studiously cleaning the counter. "Back room. Now" he ordered.

Luke hauled Jess into the small pantry roughly. "What was Rory doing up there? What were you two up to?" he questioned suspiciously.

Jess sighed wearily. "Nothing. We were…watching a movie."

"Oh yeah, what movie?"

"It's called 'My Uncle is a Paranoid Freak'"

"Oh, real smart."

"Look, we were just hanging, ok? You know, what someone usually does with a girlfriend. Not that you would know."

"Oh, and what's that supposed to mean?" Luke demanded roughly.

Jess suppressed a smirk. "Just that you're not very up to date on the whole dating thing."

"I date!" Luke exclaimed, a little less vehemently than before.

"Serving a woman coffee is not a date."

"I know smartass. I date."

"When? Tell me the last time you went on a date."

"I don't have to tell you anything," Luke protested hotly.

Jess grinned infuriatingly at him until Luke gave in.

"Fine. It was a couple of months ago. I had coffee and cake with Georgie Middler"

"Georgie Middler is 75! You only had cake with her because she got lost and you helped her home and she insisted you stay and you couldn't say no."

"How did you know that?" Luke yelped, "Were you eavesdropping on one of my conversations?"

Jess shrugged. "I can't help it if I overhear you telling Lorelai about it when I'm working can I? And I can't help it if I hear her heckling you about it – loudly – for twenty minutes. Hey, maybe you should date Lorelai. She never shuts up and you never talk – it would be perfect."

Luke squirmed uncomfortably. "Don't be stupid, I'm not going to date Lorelai. She doesn't…we're just friends. I serve her coffee. I'm the coffee guy, she's the addict, that's how it is."

"Uh huh. Don't think I haven't noticed the way you look at her"

"Like a friend? Or a customer? Because that's the only way I look at her. This is stupid, I don't even know why I'm still in here discussing it with you."

He turned around abruptly and marched back out into the diner, followed by Jess. Lorelai was sitting at the counter. "Hey Luke, my hero. If you give me a large coffee stat I'll love you forever!" She trilled flirtatiously.

Jess smirked as Luke turned pale.

"Don't say a word."


	4. Never Been Kissed

**Never Been Kissed**

* * *

Kirk stood outside the restaurant nervously, clutching some pink flowers. He swallowed and wiped a sweaty palm on his pants.

"Come on man, get a grip!" he mumbled to himself, "it's the third date and she hasn't run away yet."

"Kirk?" The pretty brunette smiled in greeting. She was wearing a pink cardigan and a black skirt. She looked beautiful.

He brandished the flowers at her. "Here. I brought you flowers. They're pink because I know you like pink and they're pretty just like you."

"Thank you!" she exclaimed, "That's so nice. They're beautiful."

He cleared his throat. "We should probably go inside. I book the table for 8 and it's now," he checked his watch, "8:02. They might give away our table."

Lulu giggled. "I don't think they'll give it away after two minutes.

"Mother told me that if you're not exactly on time that restaurants are allowed to refuse you entry. She also told me that risotto is just leftover food mashed up and that only hussies order wine."

Lulu's smile faded a bit. "Oh."

"I shouldn't mention my mother should I? Luke told me specifically never to mention my mother."

"It's ok." Lulu put a reassuring hand on his arm.

"No it's not. I always say the wrong thing. I just get so nervous when I'm around you. You're standing there looking like a girl, all small and pretty and girl-like, and then I forget what I was going to say. And then have to say the first thing I can think of, which is usually something that my mother has told me, because she tells me a lot of things, often and repeatedly. And..."

"Kirk," Lulu interrupted gently.

He hit his forehead in frustration. "I did it again didn't I? Why do I always ruin everything?"

"Kirk," Lulu repeated, laughing a little.

"Do you want me to go? I can go."

"I don't want you to go," she replied shyly, gazing up at him. She drew nearer and placed her right hand on his shoulder. "I just want to -" here she stood on tiptoe and placed the quickest peck on his lips.

Kirk paused, momentarily stunned. Then he lowered his head and bravely brushed his lips against hers, hands entwined in her dark hair. They finally broke apart and Kirk swallowed loudly.

"Now we're nearly ten minutes late. They'll have definitely given our tabled away."

Lulu giggled. "Let's go inside, shall we?"

He nodded and they entered the restaurant, hand in hand.


	5. Teenage Dream

**Teenage Dream**

Rory stared intently at the tubs of ice-cream in the freezer. Had Lorelai said to get Phish Food or Chunky Monkey? She pulled a wad of dollar bills out of her pocket and mentally added up the items already in her basket. With tax on top, there was no way she could afford both tubs. She bit her lip her thoughtfully. Getting the wrong ice-cream flavour could make or break movie night. The classic Lorelai choice was Phish Food, but she was in one of her more crazy moods tonight, so that would dictate Chunky Monkey. Rory didn't care either way but she knew she'd never hear the end of it from her Mom. A pair of hands suddenly appeared out of nowhere and covered her eyes.

"Guess who?" A male voice asked.

"Someone who will be taking their hands off me immediately if they want to live," she retorted.

He released her and she whirled around to gaze up at her impossibly tall boyfriend.

"You were looking serious back then. Trying to decide whether you needed ice-cream as well as marshmallow fluff?" Dean teased.

She gave him a small push. "That's not even a choice, mister. You always need both."

"Oh, yes, how could I forget about your magical appetites?" Dean wrapped his arms around Rory's waist and drew her close.

She stood on tiptoe and their lips met softly. She linked her hands around his neck and moved deeper into the kiss. They were interrupted by a loud clearing of the throat. They broke apart to see Taylor glaring at them, hands on his hips.

"Dean Forester and Rory Gilmore. Just what do you think you're doing?" he demanded loudly.

"Umm, I was getting some ice-cream?" Rory responded weakly.

"Oh. Oh ho! Is that what you call it?"

"We weren't doing anything wrong," Dean tried to defend.

"Not doing anything-" Taylor spluttered as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing, "young man, this is a family establishment. We have standards to be upheld. You can't just go about doing – that – in a public place."

"It won't happen again," Rory cut in firmly.

"You're darn right it won't. Now get your ice-cream and go."

He gave them a parting frown and stormed off, muttering about youth today. Dean and Rory glanced at each other apprehensively and then burst into giggles.

"His face!" Dean hooted.

"Fifty different shades of purple!" Rory responded gleefully. "Well, that decides it."

She threw the Chunky Monkey into her basket decisively, hoisted it on to the crook of her arm and made her way to the checkout, Dean in town. As he was packing her food, Dean looked at her sorrowfully.

"Don't go," he pleaded.

"I have to. Mom will stomp around the town like Godzilla if I'm not back with her sustenance soon."

"Ok, well, compromise. Why don't we meet here same time tomorrow night and see if Taylor can catch us in the canned goods section."

Rory grinned. "You're on. We'll sneak around like we're in a James Bond movie."

"Speaking of..." Dean looked around furtively then swooped down to plant a kiss on Rory.

Behind them came a loud, cross shout. "Kids! What did I just say?"

Rory's eyes widened. "Bye!" she squeaked.

Dean grabbed her arm as she was about to run out the door.

"Tomorrow?" he whispered.

She nodded. "You bring the sunglasses, I'll bring the trenchcoats."


End file.
